CHANDIGARH: Amid speculation over a possible alliance between the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections, senior SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia on Friday said people of Punjab want the two former allies to reunite and that the leadership of both parties will hold talks.
His remarks came a day after SAD MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal hinted at a possible "ghar wapsi" of the party into the BJP-led NDA by expressing hope for "agreements" that would bring development to Punjab from Delhi.
Majithia said SAD and the BJP had parted ways over the three farm laws, which have since been repealed, and added that the current situation in Punjab has revived public demand for the alliance.
“Harsimrat Badal has indicated and this is what people want. We should understand that the Shiromani Akali Dal and BJP have worked together, Vajpayee and Badal (Senior) had a strong alliance based on fraternity, communal harmony and Hindu-Sikh unity and that alliance was successful in Punjab and at the Centre and it continued during Modi’s time. We had gone our separate ways over the farm laws,” he said.
He said people want the two parties to come together for social harmony, law and order, development and employment in the border state.
“All this is a matter of fact. It is recorded in history. Today, people are demanding that given the situation in Punjab which is border state social harmony and the social fabric thus public wants both parties to come together, regarding law and order, other issues, development and employment, we should come together. Whether they will come together will be decided by the BJP and Shiromani Akali Dal leadership. Harsimrat Kaur Badal has expressed the people’s sentiments. What the outcome will be, only time will tell,” he said.
Speaking at Longowal on Thursday, Harsimrat had said alliances that brought development and progress to Punjab should happen again.
“It is not my duty to speak, so I am holding back my tongue. You will come to know yourself,” she had said.
Speculation over a renewed alliance intensified after SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal met Prime Minister Narendra Modi a few days ago. The SAD later said the meeting focused on issues concerning Punjab.
The SAD and BJP ended their long-standing alliance in 2020 over the Centre’s farm laws and contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections separately.